At ZenGRC, our mission is to make GRC simple, and it’s been that way since the inception of ZenGRC in 2009. With an in-house team of GRC experts and a development model focused on customer and industry challenges, we pride ourselves on being collaborative, innovative, and transparent.  

However, it is not just about state-of-the-art technology and “change for the sake of change.” With ZenGRC, you are not just implementing a tool, you’re adopting proven GRC best practices designed to streamline your processes and enhance your compliance and risk management strategies. We’ve navigated the pitfalls of this industry, so you don’t have to.  

For those of you who don’t know, I was a customer of ZenGRC before I worked here. As a GRC practitioner, I struggled to keep up with the growing number of frameworks, track the maturity of our controls, methodically evaluate risk across my global organization, and, most importantly, communicate in a meaningful way to my leadership. I purchased and deployed ZenGRC at two different companies, using it “in the wild” for nearly 5 years before joining RiskOptics two years ago to help guide Product Strategy. 

While other GRC tools were jumping on our bandwagon, we were busy pioneering a whole new era of GRC. In alignment with our vision of simplified and accessible GRC, we made significant improvements to our solution and internal processes recently to go beyond “GRC as usual”.  

Here’s what you can expect from our latest enhancements. 

 

Solution #1- Keeping Up with the Regulators 

First, I have to admit something. I LOVE it when new regulations come out. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s fascinating to me to see how these rules and guidelines evolved over time. But that is certainly NOT the norm for most GRC teams. Governance management is a hefty task in today’s world of ever-expanding regulation.  

However, while the regulations and standards provide guidance and structure, what really matters for effective GRC are the controls. And not just any controls- detailed and specific controls that can be used for any framework you decide to adopt.  

Using a centralized control set fosters an integrated, efficient, and easily scalable foundation that you can tailor and refine over time to align with changing regulations.  

With ZenGRC, you get: 
  • Built-in control libraries that are pre-mapped to supported frameworks 
  • The flexibility to use our industry-standard controls or bring in your own custom ones 
  • The ability to easily group controls and align them with the people, policies, processes, and technology in place to implement them 
  • Functionality to conduct assessments directly on the control and then “share” the evidence across any framework assessments or audits 

     

Here is the best part about using centralized controls-as new or updated standards and regulations are published, our team of GRC experts do the heavy lifting. All you have to do is create a new Continuous Compliance Program for the framework and let our advanced automation provide an instant gap analysis based on those existing common controls. How cool is that?  

 

Solution #2- Expertly Crafted Implementations 

We all know that gathering and assessing evidence is essential to a holistic GRC program. But with so many framework requirements, control assessments, and audit requests- it can be overwhelming.  

If you aren’t sure where to start, we can help!  
  • Our new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Authoring Assistant provides bespoke implementation suggestions 
  • Evidence collection includes: 
  • Automated connections to SaaS applications 
  • Custom fetchers 
  • Integrations with ticketing systems 
  • An OpenAPI 
  • Built-in request workflows 
  • The mapping capabilities and advanced search functionalities enable you to swiftly pinpoint the exact piece of evidence you need and use it to support any object in the system. 

With the flexibility to group controls to satisfy requirements combined with the variety of evidence-collection methods, ZenGRC offers an intuitive evidence management process, ensuring consistency and eliminating the need to repeatedly collect the same evidence for various uses.  

 

Solution #3- Hand’s-Off Task Management 

I’m going to be real with you for a moment. I have five kids, two dogs, and a husband who runs a business from our home. And that’s nothing compared to tracking auditor requests, inbound questionnaires, self-assessments, and policy approvals. But unlike my household struggle, ZenGRC can take the stress out of task management.  

Here’s some of my tips: 
  • Never underestimate the power of a dynamic task list grid with granular searching and filtering capabilities. Especially if you set up tailored “views” which save customized settings on business objects, including column visibility, order, width, filters, and sorting. 
  • To communicate more effectively, rich text functionality and @mentions foster clear and collaborative discussions linked directly in the workflows.  
  • Don’t want to invite everyone into the application? No problem! Assignees can respond directly to the task assignment email- reducing unnecessary steps for stakeholders.  

Beyond task management, many security frameworks require annual policy approvals. Connecting our solution to your preferred document repository, initiating an approval flow, and scheduling its recurrence enables the automatic initiation of tasks when it is time to review it again. And the best part, it generates a time stamped PDF report of the approval flow- the perfect evidence to show your auditor! 

 

Solution #4- Always-On Risk Management 

At a prior role, I was tasked with managing the Security Risk and Third-Party Risk Management teams while my peer managed the compliance side of the business. I remember very distinctly one day, he reported to our manager that two controls had failed, and he was working on remediation plans. Our manager turned to me and asked, “how does this impact our risk posture?” I’m embarrassed to say, I couldn’t answer that question. The truth was, I did not even know the controls failed, let alone how they impacted our risk.  

But those days are in the past!  
  • ZenGRC provides out-of-the-box risks and threats that are pre-scored and pre-mapped to controls, offering a risk baseline and recommended treatment plans on day one. 
  • The backend automation links risks with controls, third parties, threats, vulnerabilities, and assets. So, as you collect evidence, resolve findings, and remediate vulnerabilities, your risk score automatically adjusts! 

With the introduction of custom risk registers this quarter, users get an even more tailored and comprehensive risk management structure that can easily align with business objectives.  

 

Solution #5- Reporting and Communicating 

Let’s face it, GRC activities don’t happen in silos. So why would you use a GRC tool that has modules? Dynamic dashboards that enable organizations to pull data from across the entire ecosystem are essential for holistic oversight.  

This quarter, we rolled out some extra special items for communication, including: 
  • All dashboards and reports are fully customizable and easily exportable 
  • Custom colors, new chart types, and drag-and-drop configurability make mastering your data easy.  
  • Configurable platform-wide themes 
  • Formatted Continuous Compliance and Third-Party Risk Assessments reports 

 

These features extend your ability to monitor the metrics that matter most, streamlining your path to insightful decisions and comprehensive oversight.  

 

Whether you’re a seasoned GRC professional or just beginning to explore the vast world of governance, risk, and compliance, ZenGRC offers a scalable, user-friendly platform that grows with your needs. From simplifying complex regulatory landscapes to automating evidence collection and enhancing risk management strategies, ZenGRC empowers teams to focus on what truly matters—driving business forward securely and compliantly. 

Are you ready to elevate your GRC practices and turn compliance from a burden into a strategic advantage? We invite you to experience the difference with ZenGRC. Discover how our innovative solutions can streamline your processes, mitigate risks, and unlock new opportunities for your organization. 

Don’t let GRC challenges slow your journey to success. Contact us today to schedule a demo or learn more about how ZenGRC can transform your approach to governance, risk, and compliance. Together, we can make GRC simple, effective, and tailored to your unique needs.